Nachega, JB;
Atteh, R;
Ihekweazu, C;
Sam-Agudu, NA;
Adejumo, P;
Nsanzimana, S;
Rwagasore, E;
... Kilmarx, PH; + view all
(2021)
Contact Tracing and the COVID-19 Response in Africa: Best Practices, Key Challenges, and Lessons Learned from Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
, 104
(4)
pp. 1179-1187.
10.4269/ajtmh.21-0033.
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[14761645 - The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene] Contact Tracing and the COVID-19 Response in Africa_ Best Practices, Key Challenges, and Lessons Learned from Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.pdf - Published Version Download (918kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Most African countries have recorded relatively lower COVID-19 burdens than Western countries. This has been attributed to early and strong political commitment and robust implementation of public health measures, such as nationwide lockdowns, travel restrictions, face mask wearing, testing, contact tracing, and isolation, along with community education and engagement. Other factors include the younger population age strata and hypothesized but yet-to-be confirmed partially protective cross-immunity from parasitic diseases and/or other circulating coronaviruses. However, the true burden may also be underestimated due to operational and resource issues for COVID-19 case identification and reporting. In this perspective article, we discuss selected best practices and challenges with COVID-19 contact tracing in Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. Best practices from these country case studies include sustained, multi-platform public communications; leveraging of technology innovations; applied public health expertise; deployment of community health workers; and robust community engagement. Challenges include an overwhelming workload of contact tracing and case detection for healthcare workers, misinformation and stigma, and poorly sustained adherence to isolation and quarantine. Important lessons learned include the need for decentralization of contact tracing to the lowest geographic levels of surveillance, rigorous use of data and technology to improve decision-making, and sustainment of both community sensitization and political commitment. Further research is needed to understand the role and importance of contact tracing in controlling community transmission dynamics in African countries, including among children. Also, implementation science will be critically needed to evaluate innovative, accessible, and cost-effective digital solutions to accommodate the contact tracing workload.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Contact Tracing and the COVID-19 Response in Africa: Best Practices, Key Challenges, and Lessons Learned from Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0033 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0033 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2021 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License, which permits un- restricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Infection and Immunity |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10127687 |
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